Sen. Tammy Duckworth and daughter Maile have made Senate history. The Illinois Democrat brought her daughter, in a pink hat, onto the Senate floor under new rules that permitted it. (April 19)
AP

Democratic Senator from Illinois Tammy Duckworth carries her 10-day old daughter Maile Pearl Bowlsbey onto the Senate floor to cast her vote against James Bridenstine to be the next NASA administrator in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 19 April 2018. It is the first time in Senate history that a baby has been allowed on the Senate floor for a vote.(Photo: JIM LO SCALZO, EPA-EFE)

WASHINGTON — Maile Pearl Bowlsbey got an early lesson in political drama on Thursday when the 10-day-old newborn zipped on to the Senate floor — snug in her mother’s lap — for a tense roll-call vote on a controversial nominee.

Her mother, Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, gave a thumbs-down to signal a “no” vote on Rep. Jim Bridenstine’s bid to lead the nation’s space agency.

Duckworth had been summoned to the Senate from maternity leave because Democrats thought she might be needed to cast a tie-breaking vote to defeat Bridenstine’s nomination. Vice President Mike Pence was also on hand in case Republicans needed an extra “yes” vote for Bridenstine, though the nominee, a Republican congressman from Oklahoma, squeaked through narrowly.

So what began as a partisan fight over a Trump nominee ended as a “kissy-kissy” moment over a newborn baby girl and her mother, the first senator to give birth in office. The Senate on Wednesday voted to change its rules to allow lawmakers to bring their babies on the floor — a step Duckworth pushed for so it would be easier for her to juggle her senatorial responsibilities with her parenting duties.

“It’s amazing and it’s about time,” a beaming Duckworth said when asked how it felt to cast her first vote since giving birth on April 9 to Maile.

When Duckworth appeared on the Senate floor, lawmakers applauded and gathered around her. It was the first time a baby has been on the Senate floor while the body is in session, said Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee.

Klobuchar declared little Maile “adorable” and said she “peacefully slept through this entire historic moment.” Klobuchar, who helped usher through the rules change, said that was not the only accommodation they had to make for Maile.

Hats are normally not allowed to be worn in the chamber, but “we made an exception … for babies,” the Minnesota Democrat told reporters who were waiting to catch a glimpse of Duckworth and Maile. The newborn was sporting a bright pink knit cap during her historic visit.

Duckworth said she was at her Washington residence when the Senate’s top Democrat, Charles Schumer of New York, called to say they needed her to come to the Capitol.

“We had her all dressed up and ready to go and rushed right over here,” Duckworth said.

After Duckworth cast her no vote, Schumer and other senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., came over to congratulate her — and to ooh-and-aah over the baby.